A great effort and comeback by the Russellville Lady Panthers fell just short Tuesday as the visiting Franklin-Simpson Lady Cats won 52-49 to seal the number one seed in the 13th District Tournament.
Amber Sydnor’s 3-point shot at the buzzer just missed sending the game into overtime.
Coach Josh Matthews' Lady Cats led 32-20 with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter and was still ahead 41-30 going into the final quarter, but Khalia Hampton had already started leading a comeback. She was not only scoring and rebounding but also drew a charge on Jenna Curtis, who scored only one point in the second half after getting 12 the first half.
The problem for Russellville was free throw shooting. The Lady Panthers could have been tied or ahead by hitting free throws. They didn’t. They had gotten only 6 of 18 to fall in the first 24 minutes. Free throw shooting, which finished at 10 of 25 for the game, eventually did the Lady Panthers in.
Coach Dedra Adler kept her team in contention by making something happen after every break in action. Nathanshia Haskins scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter. But Coach Matthews was doing the same thing. In fact, the winning basket scored when Sydney Gooch scored on a runout with 35 seconds after an F-S timeout.
Back to early fourth quarter action: Davonna Sydnor hit a bank shot to pull the Lady Panthers to within 45-40. When Hampton rebounded a blocked shot and put it in the basket, and Amber Sydnor followed shortly with two free throws, the lead was cut to three. Then with slightly over a minute, Haskins scored on an assist from Davonya Bryant to make the F-S lead 48-46. Amber then hit one of two free throws with a minute and the margin was just one.
With four seconds remaining, Hampton drove to the goal but missed. She not only fouled sophomore center Canaysh Ervin on the rebound but also fouled out. Ervin hit both free throws, but Amber Sydnor got the ball past midcourt and then let fly on what was almost the tying field goal.
Curtis scored 13 to lead a balanced Franklin-Simpson attack. Hampton scored 14 points in the second half to finish with 20 points. Amber Sydnor added 16 and Haskins 19.
With a 5-0 district record, the Lady Cats sealed the top seed in the district tournament to be played in their gym, which is in its second year. To make sure they don’t have to play the host team in the first round, Russellville needs to beat Logan County for a second time Friday at LCHS. They both have one district win.
F-S (52) Jenna Curtis 13, Tasia Covington 9, Megan Krantz 8, Kandra Brooks 7, Sydney Gooch 6, Canaysh Ervin 4, Keely Morrow 3, Autumn Babb 2, Angelica Reetzke
RHS (49) Khalia Hampton 20, Amber Sydnor 16, Nathanshia Haskins 9, Davonna Sydnor 3, Shea Hampton 1, Davonya Bryant